The husband of a Superior woman who police say admitted to smothering their 6-month-old son to death filed for divorce on Wednesday, just eight days after his wife was arrested, according to court documents.

In the petition for dissolution of marriage, Lloyd Rochester, 29, says the union is "irretrievably broken."

Stephanie Rochester, 34, was arrested June 1 after she told detectives that she killed their infant son, Rylan, by smothering him first with a plastic bag and then with blankets over an 11-hour period, according to an arrest affidavit. The couple rushed the baby to Avista Hospital in Louisville when he was unresponsive in the morning, according to investigators, and Rylan was pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

Lloyd, Stephanie and baby Rylan Rochester
( COURTESY)

Stephanie Rochester, who was a mental health counselor at Children's Hospital and worked with autistic kids, told investigators that she was convinced her son had autism and that it would ruin her life financially and emotionally, according to the affidavit.

"She wanted to kill herself, but did not want to burden her husband with the baby inflicted with autism," the affidavit said.

She was charged Monday with first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death.

Authorities say Lloyd Rochester is not "chargeable" at this time, but he has retained Denver defense attorney Ron Podboy, who told the Camera on Thursday that it only makes sense for his client to "have someone assisting him."

"This is a tragic event for Lloyd, and he is tremendously saddened and confused by the situation," Podboy said. "He has retained a lawyer because it's something that makes sense for him to do from a number of different aspects, not the least of which are phone calls from the media."

In a case like the one against Stephanie Rochester, Podboy said, "there is certainly the question of criminal filing" against the spouse.

"I don't think there is any evidence indicating he should be filed on," Podboy said. "But, in any situation like this, this is a question that the police will review and review carefully."

Lloyd Rochester doesn't want to talk publicly about what happened because he's trying to preserve his privacy, Podboy said.

George Robertie, a Denver general practice attorney, is representing Lloyd Rochester in his petition for divorce, which indicates the couple was married Aug. 18, 2007, and separated June 1.

"This was traumatic to Lloyd, and he is really grieving," Robertie said. "He lost a child and a wife in one fell swoop. He is trying to process this and deal with this and move on."

The grounds for divorce are that the marriage is irretrievably broken, he said.

"And the facts support that here," Robertie said. "I don't think it's hard to grasp that his life has been turned inside out and upside down, and this is part of his process of coming to terms with these traumatic changes."

Under the section of the petition for divorce that requests information about the couple's children, it says "N/A." When it asks whether there are court proceedings that could affect the divorce, it lists "homicide."

Stephanie Rochester, who's being held without bond at the Boulder County Jail, was served with the divorce papers Thursday, said sheriff's Cmdr. Bruce Haas. She's continuing to be held on suicide watch based on comments she made to detectives during the course of their investigation. Haas said Rochester met with the jail's psychiatrist on Wednesday.

"He said, at this point, to remain cautious and keep an eye on her," Haas said.

Jail deputies are holding Rochester away from the rest of the female population to keep her safe, officials said. She's allowed to spend time in a "day room" only when no one else is having free time, Haas said. But, he said, she has received numerous letters and had visitors, including her mom and some friends.

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